Saturday, July 27, 2013

What is LOVE?

What
is love really?

I think we have all loved or claimed to love. Husbands, wives, significant others,
parents, children, our friends, etc. The list goes on and on. At one point in
my life it was difficult for me to tell my sisters and friends that I love them,
even though I truly did, it felt uncomfortable coming out of my mouth.But even at that point, when I did not freely
go around telling the people I love those three words, I really did not understand
the meaning of love anyway to say it wholehearted without any reservations.

Love
is so much more than the box we put it in…true love that is. It is powerful.
The bible explains it best...

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast,
it is not proud.5 It
does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it
keeps no record of wrongs.6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the
truth.7 It
always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” 1 Corinthians
13:4-7

Let’s
look at marriage, and although I am no expert in marriage, I know what the
bible speaks to my heart. I will speak from a woman’s perspective because I am
a woman. We claim to LOVE our husbands. Maybe you currently feel you have
fallen out of love but at one point you did love him, right? So how does love,
true love, end in divorce? Love “keeps no record of wrongs” so how is it we can
go on and on about what our husbands have done to us in the past? Things that
we have supposedly forgiven and let go. It is the record of wrongs that can
give us the fuel we need for divorce. How many less divorces would there be if
we did not keep that list in our minds of all the things our spouse has done to
us, fueling our anger and resentment, but instead choose to LOVE them the right
way.

This
can also be true for family members. Maybe a family member of yours has really
done some terrible things to you, to a point that you do not want to have
anything to do with that person anymore. It happens. I have felt that way. But
looking back at the scripture. Love is patient. I believe we should patiently
wait (while praying) for the loved one to do what is right. Not what we feel is right, but what is really right.
Love is not proud. Pride sometimes will prevent us from being the first person to
apologize. Pride is so strong, trust me I know. But love is not proud and if
you claim to love someone, do not let pride stop you from loving. Love always
hopes, meaning it never gives up on a person but always hopes for the best in
every situation.

Love
is powerful. Think about how the biblical definition of love can change almost
any negative situation between two people. “13 And
now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:13